In designing a source of a unit time signal for an electronic timepiece, there are essentially two major points to be considered. One of these is power consumption, since, in the case of an electronic timepiece of small size such as a wristwatch, the battery which provides power is of small size and therefore of low capacity. In order to extend the lifetime of the battery as far as possible, therefore, the unit time signal must be produced with the consumption of a minimum of power. Another consideration is that of frequency stability and accuracy. Heretofore, it has been difficult to reconcile these two basic requirements. The unit time signal normally consists of a pulse train with a period of one second, generated by frequency-dividing a standard frequency timebase signal, usually produced by a quartz crystal-controlled oscillator circuit. The highest degree of frequency stability is obtained by using AT-cut quartz crystal vibrators operating at a frequency of the order of 4 Mhz or higher. However, the higher the frequency of the timebase signal applied to the frequency divider stages, the higher will be the power consumed by the frequency divider. For this reason, the timebase oscillator circuit of electronic timepieces at the present time generally utilize a quartz crystal vibrator with a frequency of the order of 32 kHz, as a compromise between the requirements for high frequency stability and low power consumption. Timebase oscillator circuits using higher frequencies are rarely utilized, because of the need to extend the operating life of the timepiece battery as far as possible. Some means is therefore desirable whereby the excellent frequency stability of a timebase oscillator circuit using a quartz crystal vibrator at a frequency of 4 MHz or more can be obtained, without the disadvantage of increased power consumption in the frequency divider stages. It is an objective of the present invention to provide such means.